Mutations in the annexin A11 gene contribute to motor neuron degeneration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis by disrupting cellular calcium ion homeostasis and stress granule protein disassembly contributing to ALS neurodegeneration.

French researchers have shown that modifying peripheral macrophages could quell microglial activation in the central nervous system, slowing the rate of decline and extending survival in mouse models of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Scribe Therapeutics Inc., another CRISPR-based genome editing firm out of the Jennifer Doudna stable, launched with $20 million in series A funding and a deal with Biogen Inc. in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which brings in another $15 million up front and up to $400 million in development and commercial milestones.

In the past 10 years, the advances in understanding the etiology of neurodegenerative diseases have been dramatic. “The development of novel biomarkers and other tools as well are key in aiding diagnostic potential and the ability to track disease progression have been phenomenal,” Isaac Veinbergs, CEO of newly created Libra Therapeutics Inc., told BioWorld.

Cambridge, Mass., startup Enclear Therapies Inc. has secured $10 million in series A financing led by 20/20 Healthcare Partners. The company is developing a device to aid in treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative diseases by removing toxic proteins from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

A single injection of SOD1-targeting RNA into the subpial space, which is below the innermost meningeal layer, was able to spread throughout the spinal cord and, via retrograde delivery, into brain centers that project to the spinal cord in several animal models, including primates.